Life scenarios seem cinematic sometimes
In 2001, the young Ronaldinho who baffled the world was about to move from Gremio to St Mirren before Paris Saint-Germain, as the situation was that we were within 24-48 hours of closing the deal.
On 30 March 2001, the phone rang at the headquarters of St Mirren, a small Scottish football club that was not a contender for the Scottish Premier League title.
Thus it is time to close deals, pull the price, and reduce the gap between supply and demand. The usual activity in the last hours of the Mercato, even outside, on that day, there is a certain figure on the other end of the phone. His name is Eric Lovi, he's one of Ronaldinho's agents, he's one of the advisors, and he has a tempting offer: what if the Brazilian comes to play with you?
It sounds a bit cute, and it seems comical looking at what the Brazilian star has come up with next, but it's all true and it really happened and it was close to being done without some details. Exactly twenty years ago, at just 21 years old, Ronaldinho was on the verge of becoming Football player with Saint Mirren.
Strange move from Paris Saint-Germain and walk towards the top of Europe to Saint Mirren where "random football", a seemingly meaningless chaotic transition, but from that phone call a torrent of emotions arises and the strangest story in Ronaldinho's career ever begins.
There is also the compelling approval of the future Ballon d'Or winner, which at the time was at the center of a complex market affair between Gremio and Paris Saint-Germain, from Brazil to a few thousand fans of Parc Saint-Miren, the former "street of love" that will reopen in 2009. .
It is a delightful facility located in Paisley, a city of just over 70,000 people that began the story that ultimately did not take place, but which remains poignant and controversial.
In the meantime, it is possible to better explain the context of this seemingly absurd combination. Meanwhile, Luffy is a native of Paisley and a fan of St Mirren, and this is where everything began to take forward schemes, so the leadership of the Saints (or friends) are desperately looking for a striker who can help the team out of the shallow levels and the declining rankings.
So he aims publicly to have a name coming in force to bolster the offensive line, at least for the club's economic potential, among other things we talk about the former star of Brescia Cadet, the Nigerian Amokachi as well as Benny Carbone. In the end, it looks like the right star is Bebeto.
Bebeto was Romario's partner in the World Cup in America 7 years before her, he is known all over the world, but without a team after he also played in Japan, he says yes to Saint Mirren, but when the club offers him an audition to test his technical and physical condition, he indignantly refuses, And it all ends at that point.
And so, surprisingly, Operation Ronaldinho was born. He has yet to become the dazzling star of Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Seleção, but has already begun to build a distinguished reputation in European football, where he is regularly called up by the national team with which he won the Copa America two years ago.
Then, he scored a great goal against Venezuela. And it's really practical
A player in Paris Saint-Germain, even if the controversial pre-contract signed with the French was strongly objected to by Gremio, who came to fight a fierce legal battle.
The problem is mainly in France, as in the vast majority of European countries, the winter market window has long been closed, so Ronaldinho will not risk not being able to play for a few months. So here's the idea? Let's park it until the end of the season in Saint-Miren, and then it will be Paris.
On March 30, 2001, when they picked up the phone at Paisley, they couldn't come close to one of the most famous, if not over, moments in the club's 100-plus year history. Small club, with a small show: three Scottish Cups, the last in 1987.
And now Ronaldinho can wear white and black. Hendry, the manager who texted Bebeto trying to get him to join the club just a few days ago, this time things are looking better, and he's working tirelessly until the great process takes place.
The agent was a fan of St Mirren - he later told The Sun - and told us he had contacted PSG, asking the French if they would be willing to leave Ronaldinho in Scotland for the final three months of the season.
In the same hours, the first obstacles appear, despite the initial agreement between the two parties. Gremio blocks the way and the Brazilian Football Confederation does not do much to speed things up. March 30 becomes 31, the deadline is shorter and things are nearing their end.
There are only a few hours left until the end of the Scottish market, extending to midnight, we must hurry, but the process has not yet opened, hope is fading as the end approaches. Too many documents needed, too little time, with the passage of time everyone realizes unfortunately that Ronaldinho's dream of Saint Mirren has vanished into thin air.
“I would say we were there within 24-48 hours of the deal being done - recalls Hendry - we were really close. It would be one of the most amazing transfers football has ever seen. It was a series of unique circumstances: the fact that he wasn't playing, the fact that he He was a PSG player because he had signed a contract earlier.
In the end, it was not done for that reason, and Ronaldinho joined Paris Saint-Germain and from there to Barcelona, where the big bang, and the era that everyone who loved football and encountered at that time, then mimics, then Milan, and then return to Brazil in a march that was worth more than that.
The pictures were screenshots taken from my phone camera from the official FC BARCELONE YouTube channel